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Amnesty Int'l raises alarm over Gambia's human rights abuses

Amnesty International on Saturday raised alarm over the human rights situation in Gambia, saying that it is dangerously deteriorating.

The body’s secretary general Salil Shetty said that journalists and the civil society are facing rights abuse. He was speaking in Dakar, Senegal during an awards ceremony for people and organizations involved in the fight for human rights.

Shetty denounced the lack of intervention from neighbouring countries and the Economic Community of West African States. He called on the Senegalese president, who’s the current chairman of ECOWAS, to toughen up and take responsibility.

The Gambia is led by Yahya Jammeh, who came into power in 1994 through a coup.

He was later democratically elected in 1996 and re-elected every five years since. He is expected to be a candidate of this year’s presidential elections in December.